Not the End
by Andrea O'Down
Summary: This was for tmntflashfic's challenge on tumblr back in June. The theme was "Beginnings". It takes place after the episode "The Wrath of Tiger Claw".
1. Chapter 1

This is it. Karai knows it when the door of her cell is slammed closed.

She protests, cries out, reaches out, but it's useless. She knows that, and her father, no, _Shredder_ knows it too.

But she has to do something. She needs to do something to forget that this is the end.

She betrayed Shredder and she knows what this means.

She had good reasons, yes, but no one cares, least of all the man she took for her father for all her life.

And those who care, they can't reach her down here.

She thinks of her real father, thinks of how he had let her into his life, how he had risked to give away their secret hideout just to get the chance to convince her of the truth.

But Splinter hasn't been the only one.

Leo has tried it, too, so persistently and against all odds, it had always made her internally laugh - or fueled the urge to break his pretty face. Or both.

 _Leo…_

When she thinks of him now, she wants to cry, just huddle up there in a corner on the cold floor and let the tears flow.

Crying is doing something, too.

But she's too proud.

Yes, she has every reason to cry. Her whole life has been a lie, and it is over now.

She knows these dungeons well, well enough that there's no way out for her.

She feels the tears prickle in her eyes, but she blinks them away.

She is _not_ going to cry.

Tears aren't going to help her.

But on the other hand, what is going to help her?

She is lost here, locked away from the world, locked away from her life - whatever that is right now.

She's alone.

She allows herself a moment of weakness sinks to her knees.

But no tears. She forces them down again although it makes her eyes burn and her throat tighten.

And then there's is this noise, a very low snick. Karai almost missed it, but her ears are too well trained to miss anything of importance.

She shifts a bit and finds this shard on the ground. It's metal and when she picks it up she realizes how sharp it is.

It almost makes her smile, but she fights this emotion down, too.

Smiling is not going to get her out of here.

This shard is.

She hears someone coming her way and quickly puts the shard into her mouth.

Xever appears in front of her cell.

He starts mocking her, but she turns her back to him - not because she cares about his mocking, of course, but because she can't reply, not with the shard in her mouth.

For a moment she regrets it because really, Xever is such an idiot and she wants to tell him exactly that, but then she stops.

She has this shard, that's the important thing.

Yes, her old life is gone forever, but now she can reach the new life waiting for her outside these. Because now, she can get out of this cell.

She has a chance now.

This is not the end.

It's just the beginning.

And this thought makes her smile just a little bit.


	2. Chapter 2

After tending to Michelangelo's wounds and making sure he is fast asleep, Splinter takes a deep breath.

He closes his eyes, furrowing his brow, and for a moment, he allows himself to feel the pain.

It sits there in his chest, a cold iron fist around his heart, clenching, trying to squeeze out the last of his hope.

And for a heartbeat Splinter even thinks this fist has succeeded.

He has lost his daughter again, he almost lost his son.

But there it is, this tiny word.

Almost.

He _almost_ lost Michelangelo.

This is almost the end, but it isn't entirely.

Karai knows the truth now. She can decide what she is going to do with this information.

It is dangerous. No one knows that better than him.

Shredder has always been dangerous when his perfect little lies broke and showed their ugly faces.

But Karai is safe. Or as safe as someone can be who has betrayed Shredder.

He isn't going to kill her, no, he can't.

Yes, Karai has his, Hamato Yoshi's blood, and he is sure, if Shredder could, he'd wash out every drop of it out of her body.

But she's Tang Shen's blood as well, and to take anything away that reminds him or could remind him of Tang Shen one day, that's something Shredder would never risk.

Michelangelo stirs in his sleep, a little moan escaping his mouth, and Splinter quickly puts his hand on his son's cheek, stroking it gently.

Michelangelo sighs, and it appears to Splinter it's a relieved sigh, and the young turtle calms down again, his face relaxing.

Splinter keeps his hand on his son's cheek.

It is going to take some time, but Michelangelo is going to fully recover.

Splinter hasn't been so sure about that when they brought him here, with all his wounds and his shell knocked loose. It had looked so bad, so really, really bad.

He hadn't even been sure if his son was going to make it.

But then again, it's this little word that makes this big difference.

Michelangelo has _almost_ died.

But he lives now and hopefully for many, many years to come.

This little magic word can't help him with Karai, though, he remembers. It doesn't belong there.

He has really lost here. Again.

But not forever, he realizes.

Karai lives, thanks to her mother, and Tang Shen's blood inside her is going to protect her from Shredder.

And then his eyes widen.

He could have lost her completely like he had lost his beloved Tang Shen all these years ago, but he didn't.

He _almost_ lost her completely, but Shredder is going to let her live.

The magic word again.

Yes, this has looked like the end, it almost has been the end, but it isn't.

Because as long as there's an almost, there's hope.

And as long as there's hope, this is just the beginning.


End file.
